Petroleum use
Some Solutions to Petroleum Use
Note: All links from
this page are optional
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--a basic solution | |
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--pretty good solution | |
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Work for fundamental
political and economic change, to establish a production system which emphasizes the use
value of products rather than their exchange value (i.e., usefulness rather
than profitability).
Ross Gelbspan
(author of The Heat Is On, a best-selling book on global warming) and a group of
energy experts have proposed a "World Energy Modernization Plan." The
plan calls for the creation of a 0.25 percent tax on international currency transactions,
yielding $150 to $200 billion for a fund to promote the global adoption of renewable
and energy efficient technologies. (Such a plan, Gelbspan says,
would "communicate the scope and scale of what's needed to deal with this crisis. The
science on what needs to be done is unambiguous." REF )
Stop
large U.S. and state government subsidies to the fossil fuel industries. (Without such a drastic change in policy, U.S. taxpayers will pay more than $26
billion in the next five years for polluting energy programs that benefit the oil, gas,
coal, and nuclear industries. REF U.S. PIRG, Friends of the Earth or Taxpayers for Common Sense, have been
battling for years to reduce federal subsidies for fossil fuels.)
Mandate full-cost pricing of fossil fuels and nuclear energy (which would
incorporate real social and environmental costs), to be phased in over a few years. (Currently the price of this power doesn't include the environmental costs born
by society and ecosystems, including dirty air, dangerous wastes and climate change.)
Educate the public in how to effectively use renewables such as solar and wind energy,
and support their adoption with a range of tax benefits, mandates and pricing programs. (Renewables face the continued obstacle of the political power of the utility,
nuclear and fossil fuels industries. However, the U.S. public strongly supports funding of
renewables. REF )
Actively participate in campaigns against energy companies that are
destroying people and our environment (e.g., see 10
Things You Can Do for the U'wa).
Pass federal legislation requiring "net
metering," which would allow solar-powered homes to cut their bills by sending
extra electricity to utilities and running their meters backward. REF
Require utilities, business and households to invest in
energy efficiency. (Utilities have slashed investments in energy
efficiency by half since the mid-'90s. REF )
The U.S. government should impose on motor vehicle companies
stringent fuel-efficiency standards. ("Those standards have
remained unchanged since 1985, and overall vehicle fuel efficiency is at almost the same
level as at the beginning of the Clinton administration." REF )
Step up domestic production
of petroleum in environmentally sensitive areas (e.g., by opening up the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska; and by expanding off-shore drilling).
Increase oil imports
from abroad.
Optional Online Reading
"Democratic and Electric: People are Plugging In to the Production of Power," David Morris, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 18 February 2001 (posted at Common Dreams News Center) -- "The first utilities were neighborhood affairs..."
Thomas Detwyler maintains this page (tdetwyle@uwsp.edu)
Last updated 19 February 2001� Copyright 1998-2001 by Thomas Detwyler